CHAPTER 13
(1490 B.C.)
TWELVE SPIES
1And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying,
2Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the Children of Israel: of every Tribe of their fathers shall you send a man, everyone a ruler among them. (Deuteronomy 1:25 proclaims the fact that these rulers had demanded this, and the Lord had agreed to allow them to do such. Why did they need to search the land when the Lord had already told them what it was? As well, they were committing the terrible sin of unbelief by questioning the Lord. It would cost them dearly.)
3And Moses by the Commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the Children of Israel.
4And these were their names: of the Tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.
5Of the Tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.
6Of the Tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.
7Of the Tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.
8Of the Tribe of Ephraim, Oshea (Joshua) the son of Nun.
9Of the Tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.
10Of the Tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.
11Of the Tribe of Joseph, namely, of the Tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
12Of the Tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.
13Of the Tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.
14Of the Tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.
15Of the Tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.
16These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua (means help or Salvation; it was changed to Joshua, which means Saviour [Neh. 8:17]. The fact that our Saviour received the same name, because He was our Saviour, throws a halo of glory about it, which we cannot ignore. In the Divine providence Hoshea became Joshua, because he was destined to be the temporal saviour of his people, and to lead them into their promised rest Pulpit. All of these men listed above, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, registered unbelief, and thereby delayed the Plan of God for over 38 years. More than likely they, as well, lost their souls).
THE SPIES
17And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
18And see the land, what it is, and the people who dwell therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many (it would seem that Moses was guilty here of at least some indiscretion in the giving of these directions; irrespective as to the condition of the people, whether weak or strong, it was God Who was to give them the land; they had only to take possession boldly);
19And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
20And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.
21So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin (the extreme southern boundary of the Promised Land [Josh. 15:1-3]) unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
22And they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (These very well could have been giants, the result of cohabitation between fallen angels and women [Gen. 6:4]. This was Satans plan to pollute the human race, through which Jesus would have to come, that is, if man was to be delivered.) (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt [one of the oldest cities in the world].)
23And they came unto the Brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bore it between two upon a staff (quite a large cluster); and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
24The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the Children of Israel cut down from thence.
25And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. (Forty is Gods probationary number in the Bible. Regrettably, as Adam and Eve, they failed that probation. Although not stated in the Bible, most probably Adam and Eve walked with the Lord some forty days before the Fall.)
THE EVIL REPORT
26And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the Children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27And they told him, and said, We came unto the land where you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it (in other words, it was exactly as the Lord said it would be).
28Nevertheless the people be strong who dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there (giants).
29The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30And Caleb stilled the people before Moses (the evil report of faithlessness given by ten of the spies had greatly unsettled the people; little did they realize it would cost them their lives), and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it (this was the language of faith; but Faith and Truth are never popular [14:10]; had they only believed and acted upon their faith, they were, in fact, well able to overcome it, because the Lord was with them).
31But the men who went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we (but they were not stronger than God; however, doubt and unbelief always look to self, and say, We cannot, while faith looks to the Lord, and says, We can!).
32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the Children of Israel (to doubt and deny the Word of God is always constituted an evil report), saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are the men of a great stature (doubt and unbelief see the difficulties, while faith sees the victory).
33And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. (As a Believer, what do you see? Giants or God? Grasshoppers or Gods Greatness?)